Cycling
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Valencia & the Albufera Nature Reserve

Tour: SVAV4
Circular Cycling Holiday
Hotel To Hotel Cycling Holiday

This gentle pedal around Valencia’s unspoilt coast is a natural choice for discovering a different sort of Spain. Combine the colourful culture and contrasts of Valencia’s vibrant city life with easy-going cycling by the Med’s more secret sandy beaches as you sample the stunning world of the Albufera Nature Reserve and stay at a Parador in a beautiful beachside setting. Laze by the Albufera lagoon, pedal through pine forests, look out over rice paddy fields and citrus groves and maybe even get a taste for the freshest 'Paella Valenciana' down by the fishermen’s sailboats in El Palmar. With your tour starting and finishing in historic Valencia, home to medieval 'Torres' and the striking contemporary structures of the City of Arts and Sciences in the famous Turia Gardens, this has to be the perfect Spanish city-countryside cycling combo. Read More

Destination

Europe, Spain

Start Day

Any Day

Board Basis

Bed & Breakfast

Prices from

£698.00

Duration

4 Days, 3 Nights

Availability

Jan - Dec

Tour Grade

Grade 1 (Very Easy)

Read Overview
Home > Europe > Valencia & the Albufera Nature Reserve

Overview

From the classic-contemporary city mix of Valencia to the soft sandy beaches and open, outstretched landscapes of the Albufera Nature Reserve, this warm and gentle cycling holiday with wonderful Mediterranean views gives a taste of Spain on two wheels with a real difference. Excellent traffic-free and completely segregated cycle paths run almost door to door between our especially selected accommodation with quiet country roads used for the most part elsewhere.

Tour Code:
SVAV4
Activity:
Cycling
Type:
Circular Cycling Holiday, Hotel To Hotel Cycling Holiday
Country:
Europe, Spain
Area:
Valencia
Duration:
4 Days, 3 Nights
Board Basis:
Bed & Breakfast
Availability:
Jan - Dec

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive & explore

Valencia has a lot in common with a terrace café table full of tempting tapas… it’s hard to know quite where to start! But don’t worry, you’ll be back at the end of your tour with time to mop up what you’ve missed!

From your base in the historic quarter of the city, why not sit and drink in the atmosphere on the Carrer de la Batlia perhaps, looking out on the octagonal towers and exuberant Valencian façades or head to the massive Mercado Central to feast your eyes on every local delicacy imaginable in King Alfonso XIII’s amazing market hall.

With its imposing towers and gateways – the ‘Torres de Serranos’ and ‘Torres de Quart’ – the medieval ramparts are impressive, but the historic streets of the ‘Cuitat Vella’ harbour many more treasures like the historic silk exchange, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over along the old Turia riverbed, the city comes bang up to date with the collection of amazing contemporary landmarks, the City of Arts and Sciences, linked together by a really super cycle path.

Overnight in Valencia.

Day 2 From Valencia to Albufera vistas and so very much more

Time to leave the treasures of Valencia behind you, heading out past the museums, monuments and bridges of the famous Turia Gardens and its stunning structures of the City of Arts and Sciences, along the dedicated cycle path towards the beautiful beaches of the Meditarranean coast.

Sandy stretches line the route as you descend into the flatlands of the Albufera Nature Reserve and cast your eyes on the vast watery expanse of the great freshwater lagoon, Laguna de l’Albufera. It’s a true natural paradise for wildlife, renowned as the fertile fishing grounds for local villagers and flocks of heron alike and famed for its amazing sunsets. Stop at the fishing village of El Palmar with its ‘Barracas’ or typical Valencian houses to taste exquisite local dishes or take a boat trip to be transported out across the calm waters into a different world.

Thanks to the flat terrain, continuing on a circular tour is not a difficult temptation to resist. It’s a great way to explore the sheer diversity of one of Spain’s most important wetland areas, but if the super spa facilities and beautiful dune and beach scenes of the Parador El Saler are more tempting still, then so be it!

An optional route extention (14 miles / 22 kms) leads along through green and pleasant farmlands to La Muntanyeta del Sants, where an historic mission house and a church with an elevated position provides an excellent look-out point across the rice paddies and over towards the fine sandy beaches. Carry on coastwards here to El Perellonet, sandwiched between two ‘Gola’ or water outlets and known for its fossil dunes, or make a further optional detour (4 miles / 7 kms) down to Sueca, Albufera’s capital of the rice industry.

However energetic you choose to be, the beauty of the big skies is sure to be breath-taking and where better to watch the sunset than your final destination – right in the nature reserve itself by the dunes and beaches of the Med.

Overnight Parador El Saler.

Miles: 19 – 37 Kms: 30-60

Day 3 A natural route back to Valencia

Take time today to explore the lakes, dunes and forest of the Albufera which stretch as far as the seashore as you pedal through the many micro-environments and along the sandy ‘platjas’ back to the bustle of Valencia. Each area of the Albufera has its own unique flora and fauna and brilliant birdlife, so be sure to have the binoculars near the top of the panniers. You’ll find its vast influence in the seasonal local cuisine too, from rabbit and duck to fresh red mullet, snail and crayfish dishes, or even ‘arròs amb fesols i naps’ – a more earthy mix of rice, white beans and turnips. Sounds like a great reason to stop off for a proper lunch today!

Overnight in the historic quarter of Valencia.

Miles: 14 Kms: 23

Day 4 Depart after breakfast

Depart after breakfast, or take time to enjoy just a little bit more of Valencia. Did you get to wander through the Viveros Gardens and pop in to see those Goyas and El Grecos in the Museum of Fine Arts already?

Extra nights can be booked to allow more time to explore Valencia or the Albufera at your leisure.

Fancy exploring just a little further?
Stay an extra night in the 4 star surroundings of the Parador El Saler and add an extra circular route to your cycling holiday (marked in red on the map) to take in Cullera, the coastal city near the mouth of the River Xúquer. As well as a good crop of beautiful beaches, there are the most amazing panoramic views of the coastline from the mountain location of the Sanctuary of the Virgen del Castillo. The route returns to the Parador via the rice capital, Sueca.

To find out more and book, please give us a call and ask for TOUR SVAV5.

Dates & Prices

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PRICE INCLUDES

En suite accommodation as described with buffet/continental breakfast (prices based on two adults sharing)

4 star accommodation in Valencia, 4 star Parador in Albufera.  If half-board is booked, 3 course dinner at the Parador. Dinners in Valencia are not included

Hire of hybrid bicycle and ancillary equipment (one pannier, one mapholder per couple, odometer, lock & puncture repair equipment)

Luggage transfer between hotels

Local assistance on call (although puncture repair is excluded)

Information pack with detailed joining instructions and daily route overviews sent out approximately 2 weeks before departure so you can plan ahead and look forward to your cycling adventure

Detailed route notes and maps (1:50,000) with marked routes supplied on arrival.

GPS unit – pre-programmed

GPS tracks available free of charge on request

Please note that the price EXCLUDES

Costs of getting to and from the tour area

Accommodation Options

Selected 4 star hotels in València and El Saler. Both hotels have pools, El Saler can offer spa treatments and golf.

Options:
  • Half board in El Saler only
  • 4 night itinerary with 2 nights in El Saler .

More Information

Useful websites, travel information and tips to help you plan your journey to and from the country and location of your holiday.

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